Coworking Spaces¶
Scenario¶
As a remote worker, freelancer, or entrepreneur in Melbourne, I want to easily discover coworking spaces in Melbourne, so that I can quickly find a suitable workspace near me that meets my needs and supports local businesses.
As a city planner or coworking space investor, I want to identify optimal locations for new coworking spaces based on proximity to local businesses and public transport, so that I can make data-driven decisions that enhance accessibility and community integration.
What this use case will teach you¶
At the end of this use case, you will have demonstrated the following skills:
Extracted and imported datasets from open data portals for analysis using APIs.
Conducted data cleaning and preprocessing to ensure data quality and consistency.
Performed exploratory data analysis (EDA) to uncover trends, patterns, and anomalies.
Utilised clustering algorithms to segment regions or data points based on relevant features.
Applied advanced machine learning and statistical methods to evaluate clustering outcomes and derive meaningful insights.
Background and Introduction¶
With the rise of remote work and flexible professional lifestyles, coworking spaces have become essential infrastructure in modern cities. In Melbourne, the growing community of freelancers, remote workers, and entrepreneurs is increasingly seeking convenient, well-equipped spaces to work, collaborate, and connect. At the same time, city planners and investors are exploring opportunities to support this shift by improving accessibility and identifying optimal locations for new coworking developments.
This use case presents an interactive mapping solution that visualises the distribution of coworking spaces across Melbourne. The map enables users to easily discover existing coworking hubs, along with nearby bus stops, trams stops and local businesses such as cafés, convenience stores, and gyms. By layering these data points, the tool serves two key audiences:
Remote workers and freelancers can quickly find coworking spaces that are conveniently located and well-supported by nearby services.
City planners and coworking investors can identify high-potential areas for expansion based on business density and public transport accessibility.
By integrating spatial data of coworking spaces, business establishments, tram stops and bus stops, this tool supports both individual productivity and strategic urban development, fostering a more connected and vibrant coworking ecosystem in Melbourne.
Datasets used¶
Coworking Spaces
This dataset contains the listing of coworking spaces within the City of Melbourne municipal boundary, with their trading names, addresses and precise location. This dataset is sourced from the Melbourne Open Data website and can be accessed via API V2.1.Business Establishments Location and Industry Classification
This dataset details the locations and industry classifications of businesses in Melbourne, offering insights into existing retail density and types of businesses operating in specific areas. This dataset is sourced from the Melbourne Open Data website using API V2.1.Bus stops
This data set shows the locations of the bus stops within the city of Melbourne. This dataset is sourced from the Melbourne Open Data website using API V2.1.City Circle tram stops
The City Circle tram service operates within Melbourne's central business district. The service operates in a circular route passing major tourist attractions, as well as linking with other tram, train and bus routes in and around Melbourne. This dataset shows the location of the stops on the route. The dataset is sourced from the Melbourne Open Data website using API V2.1.
Data Exploration and Visualisation¶
Visualisation of Businesses in Melbourne CBD¶
This code generates a scatter plot that visually represents the spatial distribution of business services relevant to coworking space users in Melbourne.
- Business Density is Highly Concentrated in the CBD
The highest concentration of all three service categories appears within a tight, centralized cluster. This suggests that the Melbourne Central Business District (CBD) offers the most diverse and abundant mix of amenities that are attractive or essential to coworking space users, such as cafes, grocery stores, gyms, and wellness services.
- Food & Beverage Services Are the Most Widely Distributed
The blue dots representing Food & Beverage businesses are more evenly spread across the map, reaching further into surrounding areas beyond the core cluster. This indicates that access to cafes and restaurants is relatively widespread, supporting flexible workspace users who may not be located in the immediate CBD.
- Retail & Essentials and Wellbeing Services Are More Clustered
Both green (Retail & Essentials) and orange (Wellbeing & Services) markers are more densely packed in central zones, with limited presence in outlying areas. This suggests these services tend to follow higher foot traffic and population density, reinforcing the value of placing coworking spaces near mixed-use commercial zones.
- Ideal Coworking Locations Align with Amenity Hotspots
For planners and investors, the overlapping clusters of these business types point to highly serviced areas that may support additional coworking infrastructure. These are places where workers have convenient access to meals, daily necessities, and health services—factors that directly influence coworking space desirability and usage.
Visualisation of tram stops and bus stops¶
This code creates a scatter plot that visualizes the geographic locations of tram stops, bus stops, and coworking spaces in Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD). Each type of location is represented with a different shape and color, making it easy to distinguish between them on the map.
- Coworking spaces cluster densely in the tram-accessible area
Most coworking spaces appear to be concentrated in a relatively tight cluster that closely overlaps with the tram stop network. This suggests that tram accessibility is a major factor in the location of coworking hubs, likely because trams offer a reliable and central mode of transport for inner-city commuters.
- Bus stops are widely distributed beyond the coworking core
Bus stops are more broadly scattered across the map, covering peripheral and suburban areas of the CBD and beyond. However, there is less overlap between bus stop locations and coworking spaces, which implies that bus networks may serve a different commuter segment, or that they are used more to support surrounding residential zones rather than coworking precincts.
- Multi-modal transport connectivity is strongest in the coworking zone
The zone with the highest density of coworking spaces is also well-covered by both tram and bus networks, indicating multi-modal transport access. This connectivity is likely a strategic advantage for coworking space operators, catering to a variety of commuter preferences and enhancing location appeal.
- Opportunity for expansion may exist in well-connected but underutilized zones
In areas where tram or bus stops are present without many coworking spaces nearby, there may be untapped potential for new coworking developments. City planners and investors could explore these areas as candidates for strategic expansion, especially if other amenities are also present (e.g., food, retail, gyms).
Visualisation of Coworking Spaces on the Map¶
From the above map, all Coworking Spaces in the CBD are highlighted in blue color. When users click on these markers, coworking spaces adresses and their websites can be seen. It is noticeable that coworking spaces are centered in particular areas in CBD, while there could be high demands for coworking spaces in the Southern suburbs and Northern suburbs as well. These are also areas with high density of local services. If coworking spaces are more spread out, these local services can benefit from remote-working customers.
Visualisation of Coworking Spaces and Nearby Services on the Map¶
The aim of this map is for user to quickly find a coworking space and also can view its nearby public transportation (bus stops and tram stops), cafe/restaurants, supermarkets or wellbeing services. To make it more interactive, user can choose which service are they looking for by clicking on a toggle with layers of services. For example, if they are looking for a nearby bus stop, they just need to choose "Bus Stops" from the map and they can see all bus stops and how close they are to each coworking spcae.
Each marker includes a simple popup label that says “Bus Stop.” The same approach is applied for tram stops: a separate subgroup called "Tram Stops" is created, also hidden by default, and then red markers with subway icons are placed for each tram stop listed in the dataset (tram_clean). These layers allow users to toggle transport options on the map, making it easier to assess the accessibility of coworking spaces via public transit, which is highly relevant for remote workers, commuters, and urban planners.
Each marker shows a popup with the business’s name and address. This feature allows users—particularly remote workers and city planners—to explore what types of services surround coworking spaces, such as nearby cafes, gyms, and convenience stores, helping them assess how suitable and well-supported each location might be.
Clustered Map of Coworking Spaces and Nearby Services Density¶
The map efficiently handles dense areas, grouping nearby service points into expandable clusters that reveal detailed information upon zoom or click. This allows users to quickly assess the intensity of nearby amenities and accessibility via public transport around each coworking space.
The overall goal is to identify high-potential areas for coworking expansion—places that are not only well connected but also supported by a rich mix of services that attract freelancers, entrepreneurs, and remote workers. This visualisation supports strategic urban development, business planning, and community integration initiatives.
By organising business markers in this way, the map becomes a powerful tool for city planners and coworking investors to evaluate the density and type of nearby services. This is especially useful for identifying high-potential areas where essential amenities already exist—such as restaurants, grocery stores, and fitness centers—which tend to attract remote workers and support a thriving coworking ecosystem.
Conclusion¶
This use case demonstrates how spatial data visualisation can support data-driven decisions in urban planning and coworking space investment. By integrating the locations of coworking spaces with nearby public transport infrastructure (tram and bus stops) and essential business services (food, retail, wellbeing), the interactive map and supporting plots provide valuable insights into the accessibility and amenity density across Melbourne’s urban landscape.
Observations¶
- Coworking spaces are highly concentrated in Melbourne's CBD, closely aligned with dense clusters of tram stops and essential services. This suggests that accessibility and surrounding amenities play a major role in site selection and user demand.
- Tram stops show the strongest overlap with coworking locations, indicating that tram accessibility may be more influential than bus connectivity in supporting daily commuting for coworking users.
- Food & Beverage services are the most widely distributed, providing consistent support across a broader area, while Retail & Essentials and Wellbeing & Services tend to cluster around the CBD.
- Several areas with high transport accessibility (especially bus-heavy corridors) lack nearby coworking spaces, pointing to potential gaps in service coverage.
Recommendations¶
Based on the analysis of coworking spaces, public transport, and surrounding business services in Melbourne, the following recommendations are proposed for city planners, urban developers, and coworking space investors:
Prioritise Expansion in Transit-Rich Areas Focus new coworking developments in areas with high tram and bus stop density, especially where service clusters (e.g., food, fitness, retail) already exist but coworking supply is limited. These locations offer strong accessibility and are likely to attract mobile professionals.
Leverage Amenity Clusters to Maximise Attractiveness Coworking locations surrounded by a mix of food & beverage, retail, and wellbeing services are more appealing to users. Prioritise sites where these amenities co-locate to support convenience, work-life balance, and productivity.
Use Underserved Transit Corridors as Pilot Zones Identify bus corridors or fringe-tram zones with existing business density but few coworking options. These could serve as low-risk pilot locations to test demand and validate expansion strategies outside the CBD.
Improve Visibility with Interactive Mapping Tools Deploy an internal or public-facing interactive map dashboard to visualise coworking supply, transit links, and business environments. This would enable data-backed planning and stakeholder engagement across departments and investment teams.
Engage in Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) Coordinate with local councils and transport agencies to explore incentives, co-location models, or zoning flexibility that supports coworking developments in strategic urban nodes.
Monitor Business Ecosystem Growth Establish a monitoring framework to track the emergence of new services, startup clusters, and digital hubs—these are often early indicators of rising demand for coworking spaces in secondary neighborhoods.
Ensure Equity in Access While the CBD is well-served, extend efforts to promote coworking options in growth corridors and outer suburbs to support remote workers, students, and SMEs with limited central access.
By applying these recommendations, stakeholders can make strategic, data-informed decisions that not only meet current demand but also future-proof Melbourne's coworking ecosystem as part of a vibrant, accessible, and inclusive urban economy.